Darkening Skies
by Arashi Kanashimi
Summary: -Yogscast SoI-A concerned Jasper calls in our heroes to investigate the odd disappearance of Lysander, only for them to be plunged into a desperate race for lost treasures with the potential to destroy Time itself. And as darkness steadily overcomes Lysander, it is up to Honeydew, Xephos and the semi-vice captain of the New Mistral Watch (OC) to save him, and the world, yet again.
1. Prologue

**Hello my lovely readers! Here I am, with a new fic I'll probably never finish. -_- (Remember, the more you review, the more inspiration I get to continue a story. Just a thought.) **

**So before we begin, I'd just like to give a huge thanks to Dordtchild, whose AMAZING Fall of Xephos comic gave me the idea for this fic. The prologue is in fact an adaptation of one of the storyboards she decided not to use. The link will be provided at the bottom of the prologue (looking at it now will ruin the prologue). :P **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any the yogscast, SoI, or anything in this story except for the actual plot (from chapter 1 onward) and my OC, who I don't have a name for yet... XD**

**Warning: Contains blood, gore, character death, and no small degree of darkness. If you are younger than 13, or easily traumatized, please stop reading.**

Prologue:

He was bleeding. Rivulets of the red liquid gently flowed from his stomach, through his clutching fingers. They lingered on his knuckles for a moment, before tumbling to the dirt. And it was getting harder and harder to even keep the pressure on his wound.

Skylord_Lysander, known to most as the master of the Skyhold, was not in what you'd call 'a good way'. He could barely even support himself. On his knees, he had one hand on the ground, and the other clutching the deep cut in his stomach. Blood dripped from it steadily, as it did from his nose, mouth and other various cuts.

Israphel sure knew how to torture a man. Pain washed over Lysander, and he almost fell over. He had to warn the heroes. He'd already failed them once. The guilt was pressing down on him in waves. He couldn't believe, after all his noble talk, how easily Israphel had gotten what he needed. '_Notch damn it.'_

The anger and shame- it was enough to give him strength. He moved his weight to one knee, placing his other foot firmly in the dirt. Lysander heaved a breath, and went for it. His legs strained, and for one brief second, he thought he'd make it to his feet. Then his vision blurred. Pain, far worse than before, grabbed him in its pincer-like grip, and he collapsed to his knees again with a gasp.

It was pointless. He was a worthless, useless, excuse for a Skylord. He'd just have to face failing Honeydew and Xephos for the second time._ Except..._

With the hand that wasn't clutching his wound, he reached into his pocket. A soft, creamy surface touched his fingertips, and he brought it out. It was a scrap of paper; actually, it was Honeydew's old honorary Skylord pass. He'd salvaged it for memory's sake after the Sand Wars had been won. It'd do just fine now. He removed the hand from his stomach, and using his own blood, began to write feverishly.

There was a loud crunch behind him, the sound of a foot carelessly stepping on gravel. Lysander brought his scrap of paper right under him, and half-buried it in the dirt. '_Please find it, heroes, please.'_

There was another crunch of gravel, and Lysander began his struggle to turn around.  
"Well, lookie what I have here,"a voice, like Russian silk, purred.

Lysander froze in horror. It couldn't be. He'd seen the corpse. But as he managed to turn fully, he saw the shining black boots and clean white pants. '_No, no no nonononono_.' Lysander couldn't bring himself to look higher.

"Seems you had a nice talk," the man murmured gleefully, "with master Israphel."

And as the man, if you could even call him that, moved ever closer to Lysander, the Skylord felt a tremor of terror run through him. '_Anything but this...' _He tried once more to struggle to his feet, a new burst of adrenalin pounding through his bloodstream. He would have made it, but he didn't. The man was behind him in an instant, grabbing the back of his shirt and hoisting him up. Lysander gasped as the man's strong pulling on his shirt half-strangled him. He was pulled just a little higher, so that he was between a crouch and a standing position.

The man's voice was frighteningly soothing, "It takes a little getting used to." His voice took on a gleeful tone, "But I know you will like calling _him_ master."

At those words, panic tore through Lysander. He struggled to get free, but the man was far too strong, and his grip from behind was far too easy to maintain. Slowly, Lysander's efforts weakened. The man felt it, and brought Lysander closer to him, as he might have reeled in a fish. Lysander's breath came in short pants now. He'd lost so much blood, and despite the adrenaline, sleepiness was beginning to overtake him. _It was so tempting to just fall into the black..._ He mentally shook himself, and even though he could hardly move, his eyes burned bright. He wouldn't give up. Not again.

The man was almost gentle now. "All you need is some discipline, some obedience and some..." The man paused, "bleeding."  
He tilted Lysander's head so that the Skylord could see the man's face. And it only confirmed his worst fears. The face's pale white skin showed a few grazes and cuts. Jet black hair, streaked with white, was kept neat by a pair of Skylord goggles. Pointed ears mirrored his hair style. His coal black eyes met Lysander's for a moment, and they were filled with an indescribable pleasure. And above all else, his pointy-toothed grin, emphasized by his goatee, told Lysander all he needed to know.

It was Skylord_Vitali. Back from the dead to get his sweet, sweet justice. Vitali's smile widened. "It'll be nice to work with you again, Lysander. You always were a likable man." Lysander tried to speak, but all that came out was a gargle of blood. Vitali gently moved Lysander's head. Despite a small struggle from Lysander, he easily kept it in place. Lysander was forced to face away from Vitali, although his body remained in the same position. Lysander knew that his neck was completely exposed to the vampire. '_Surely the heroes will come for me...They always did show up at the very last possible moment.'_

"Shhhhh, it's okay, Lysander," Vitali murmured, his calm voice washing over the wounded Skylord. He leaned in and Lysander smelt his scent, a scent only describable as cold death. Lysander made one last effort, which was easily stilled by Vitali. He was inches away. Cold breath tickled Lysander's neck and then...A prick of teeth. It lasted only for a few moments. The bite was so little, painless, and a soothing coldness spread out from it. '_Fight it, damn you, fight it! Whatever happens don't...let...the ...evil...'_

Vitali watched gleefully as Lysander's eyelids fluttered closed. "You'll know how to find us." He dropped the unconscious Skylord back into the dirt, and strode away.

**Arashi: Yaaaaay! Why are the darkest parts always the most fun to write?! :D**

**Lysander: What in Notch's name are you doing to me?**

**Arashi: Everything, Lysander. Everything. :3**

**Lysander: Urgh, that's all you'll tell me, and you still are going to make me say a link...**

**Arashi: ...Say it now or you'll get paired with Jasper..**

**Lysander: Here's that lovely link to Dordtchild's storyboard of Vitali biting me: **

**Hang on...The link isn't working...Just google this, okay? **

**Google: skylord lysander vitali concept board dordtchild**

**Arashi: Good, Lysander. Okay, well anyhoo, I am planning to kill off a character or two. Please leave a review with your thoughts on this prologue and who you'd like or not like to be killed off! Remember, reviews inspire me! :P**


	2. Tea At Jasper's

**Hello and welcome! XD Hehe, sorry, but as a true yognaught, that is and forever will be my favourite introduction. Anyway, this chapter is exactly...2 days later than I planned, but my writing is quite delayed because of a lovely new puppy we've just gotten XD And I'm sick...so yeah...**

**Sadly, Dordtchild, my inspiration, has given up her amazing Fall of Xephos comic for college and her family. Ah well, we'd probably all do the same in her position...And I swear no matter what, I won't drop this!**

Chapter 1: Tea at Jasper's

Anora half-stumbled as someone pushed past her. She reached out a hand for support, only to grab another passer-by. "Sorry," she muttered, releasing the annoyed civilian. Saturday morning in the New Mistral market place was madness. As usual.

It took a while, but she managed to get to the quieter side streets. Panting, she made sure her rapier was hanging properly at her side, and that her coin pouch was still in her pocket. It wasn't. She sighed. Despite the New Mistral Watch's best efforts, the city was filled with petty thieves and pickpockets. Just travelling though the market place often resulted in a loss of valuables. It generally didn't happen to a warrior of the Watch though; but then again, most people hardly believed Anora could be in the Watch. It was one of the many "perks" of being one of only two women in it. Subsequently, she was targeted by any one of the low-lives of Mistral, as if she were an ordinary citizen.

The fact of the matter was that there were far too people who knew how to wield a sword these days, yet alone ones who met the strict requirements of the Watch. Most of the warriors of old had been wiped out in the Sand Wars or had joined the Templars. It was a hard time. _'It'd be nice if those blessed heroes would show up once in a while to lend a hand...'_

Straightening her cloak, Anora snapped out of thought. She had business to attend to. She took out a slip of paper and peered at it. She finally made out Skylord_Jasper's house's address written on it._ 'Ok, Anora awaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!'_ She grinned, and hurried down the street.

-OFFICIALLYSANDERFANGIRLPAGEB REAK-

Anora rapped on the door again. It had been five minutes of standing outside Skylord_Jasper's house and her patience was wearing thin.

"Skylord_Jasper! This is the Watch! Please open the door, sir!" she yelled. She thought she heard footsteps from somewhere inside, and muffled cursing. Finally, the door swung open. A bald man, presumably Jasper, stood in the doorway, dressed in a baggy skylord uniform. But looking at him was all Anora could do before she burst into a violent fit of coughing. The sickly sweet smell wafting from Jasper's house was beyond withstanding.

It was a good minute before the smell cleared enough for her to stop her fits. Jasper's eyes raked her up and down critically.

"You're a member of the Watch?" he asked scathingly.

"Yes sir! I'm semi-vice captain Anora Oman." She saluted, and immediately felt ridiculous. _'You're acting like some baby girl scout; stop it._'

"Well, what are you here for?" was Jasper's grumpy response. She thought for a second he sounded a little nervous.

"Well, I'm here to ask whether you'd like to...uh...make a donation to the Watch."

"Why would I help that blasted Watch, when it refuses to help me?"

"'Scuse me?"

Jasper actually looked something other than grumpy. Anora noticed the bags under his eyes, and his dishevled appearance. And he had a kind of nervous energy.

"Lysander. He was meant to meet me at the Skyhold three days ago, but he never arrived," Jasper murmured.

"I'm sure he just forgot about it, or maybe he had other business to attend to..." Anora said reassuringly. _'For Notch's sake, Anora, don't stick your nose in where it doesn't belong!_' She didn't have the time to go on a wild goose chase around Minecraftia for a missing Skylord.

"That's what that guy, semi-vice captain Pralius, said. But I know Lysander! He wouldn't be late; he wouldn't..." Jasper's voice almost broke, and his eyes looked moist. Fury rose up in Anora, at both herself and the Watch. Yes, the Watch didn't have great resources or many members, but it wasn't an excuse to ignore Jasper's worries._ 'We're supposed to be there to help people, damn it!'_ Anora frowned. She wasn't going to be like Pralius, ignoring everything except looking good. And it would be easy to go investigate. All she needed was an excuse to get away from New Mistral for a few days. If Lysander actually was in trouble, saving him might even get her a promotion to Whole Vice Captain. _'Oh, I could spend days rubbing it in Pralius's face...'_

"May I come in?" she asked brightly.

"Oh, um, why?" he answered, his suspicion obvious.

"Well, I need to know everything about this vanishing if I intend to investigate it!" Anora gave her best and most trustworthy smile she had. Jasper managed a weak grin back at her, and let her in. The room she entered would have been cosy at some other time. At that moment, however, it was just a mess. There were a number of beer glasses and other rubbish scattered about, and the sweet smell from before was still hanging around.

"Jasper, you do know that possession of opiates is a crime, right?" she asked.

He rounded on her, anger in his eyes. In a second, he'd grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her close, so that she was just inches away from him.

"YOU THINK I GIVE A RAT'S ARSE WHAT'S LEGAL?!" he yelled. Anora stayed completely still, breathing short and fast. Gradually, his grip slackened, until he let go of her all together.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"Forget it," Anora quickly excused. _'Okay, don't provoke him, you moron._' She cleared her throat. "Can you tell me what exactly happened? Why were you meeting Lysander?" She paused. "Please, sir."

Jasper slowly settled in a grubby pink armchair. Anora followed suit, although she made sure to pick a more normally-coloured seat.

"We were going to meet to discuss the new recruits' progress," Jasper began. "You know, the Skylord trainees? Lysander always tried harder than me at getting them fully trained and ready to take the test." Jasper sniffed. "Some of the trainees were about ready for the test actually, and that was what we were going to discuss."

"But he never came..." Anora finished quietly. Jasper nodded. "Do you have any idea where he was before he disappeared?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think he was had to take his plane out to some meeting in Icaria before he was going to join me at the Skyhold. But I don't know whether he arrived or whether he crashed or-" Jasper was forced to halt as he blinked away his tears.

"Look, even if his plane had a bit of trouble, he's definitely fine,' Anora reasoned. "Sure, maybe stuck out in the middle of nowhere, but-"

There was a muffled bang from upstairs and she froze. "What was that?" she asked in a whisper.

"Oh nothing. I'm sure it was just a window or slamming or something..." Jasper replied hastily.

"What? It could be a robber for all you know!" Anora scolded softly.

"It's fine, don't worr-" Jasper began, but stopped mid-sentence as Anora leapt to her feet.

In a flash, her diamond rapier was drawn, and she rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was going to catch those thieves, or be damned if she didn't. _'Jasper doesn't deserve th- Woah, what the hell?'_

Anora stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of room she'd ran into. It was just so...pink. She couldn't get over it. Jasper came up the stairs behind her, and she was glad to see he was blushing slightly. _'No wonder he didn't want me to come up here...'_

"Come on Lewis, over the side!" Quick!" someone yelled.

It broke her out of her daze, and she pivoted to look all around the room. There was a door in the corner, opening on to a balcony, and a ginger-haired dwarf was balanced precariously on the balcony railing, clearly ready to jump into water below. There were footsteps behind her, and she turned once again to face the sound. Just in time, too.

A brown-haired man in a red coat came pelting down another flight of stairs, but stopped when he saw Anora. And she caught a glimpse of the golden apple in his hand. Undoubtedly stolen from Jasper.

Her vision blurred, and her mind was cast back to years ago. Anger built up in her. She glared at the man, and when she spoke, her voice was tight. "I really do despise your kind. It'd be wonderful if you'd just all...die." She stepped forward and raised her rapier, until the tip of the blade was touching the brown-haired man's chest. His blue eyes widened, but there was more surprise than anything other emotion in them. Not even fear.

"Uh, Lewis, do you think she knows who we are?" the dwarf called from behind her.

"No, Simon. I'm pretty sure she doesn't."

**Arashi: YAAAAAAAAAAY! They finally made an appearance!**

**Lysander: Well, surely you knew that already...I mean, you are the author after all.**

**Arashi: Haha, yeah, I did, I totally did...**

**Lysander: Excellent...You didn't, did you?**

**Arashi: Nope ^_^**

**Anora: Wait, who are they? Why do I feel like I'm the butt of some strange joke?**

**Vitali: Because you are *menacing smile***

**Arashi: Ah, right, I actually like how Anora turned out. She's quite self-centered and violent...**

**Anora: Hey! Watch it! *brandishes rapier***

**Lysander: Uh, well, please remember to review! **

**Arashi: And don't forget to say who you want to die! Otherwise I just might end up killing off your favourite character...*smirk***

**Lysander: Oh Notch no...**


	3. What's the Difference?

**Welcome back my lovely, lovely readers! (Nope, not sucking up to you at all.) Sorry for the super long wait before this update, but school started, my puppy almost ate me...and...yeah...I think you get the picture... **

**I can't say this chapter was my most fun to write. Just not enough darkness compared to the prologue. Oh well, that'll change soon :3**

**Thanks to my four lovely reviewers (6 reviews, yay!) Keep 'em comin' folks, keep 'em comin'... :)**

**Well, without further ado *insert disclaimer from prologue here*.**

Chapter 2: What's The Difference?

Anora glared at the brown-haired man. "Dwarf, come down from that balcony rail and go to where I can see you," she yelled, but didn't take her eyes off Brown-Hair for an instant. _'Brown-Hair...Anora, you're so great at coming up with nicknames.'_

"And if I..uh...just decide to escape?" the dwarf asked cheerily.

"Then I run your friend through with my blade."

"Oh, um, okay. I'm coming." There was a thud, and then some heavy footsteps before the red-headed dwarf stepped into view. Anora suddenly noticed his pants were slightly low, and some...other hair was peeking out from the top of them. She felt a slight heat in her cheeks and knew she was blushing. Plus she'd kind of been staring at him for well over ten seconds. _'Awkward...'_

The dwarf took a step towards her, and in a flash, she'd switched position so that her rapier pointed at him instead. He stepped back again, an indignant look on his face.

"JASPER, YOU BASTARD! TELL THE MAD WOMAN ALREADY!" he suddenly wailed.

"Anora...wait," Jasper sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, these aren't robbers," he said grudgingly.

"Then who the hell are they?" Anora asked, her attention still focused on the dwarf.

"The...heroes who saved Minecraftia from the Sands..." he muttered gruffly.

"'Scuse me?" Anora said harshly. "You mean these assbutts are Honeydew and Xephos?" Confusion welled up inside her. She'd never exactly pictured herself meeting the legendary heroes. Yet alone while keeping them at sword-point in a completely pink room. Finally, she risked a quick glance back at Jasper. He was looking quite grumpy, but there was an earnestness about him that made her believe he wasn't lying. His brown eyes caught her blue ones.

"These are indeed them," he confirmed. And at that second, she decided to trust him._ 'Besides, there's no reason to lie about this.'_ Anora lowered her rapier and sheathed it once again. Immediately the tension went down a few notches, and Honeydew even cracked a grin.

"Alright," she decided. "I guess it's oka-"

She froze mid-sentence. She narrowed her eyes, and her hand crept to the hilt of her weapon. "Hang on," she murmured. "If they aren't thieves, then how do you explain that apple?" Her question was met with blank looks all round.

"What apple?" Xephos asked innocently, but Anora couldn't help noticing a bulge in his pocket. "That one, the golden one," she said, and pointed. Xephos blushed pink.

"That's a...uh...a...snowball," he stuttered.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Uh, yes." There was an awkward silence, and Xephos's cheeks turned a rosy pink under Anora's disbelieving stare.

"Get it out then," she ordered.

"What?"

"Get. It. Out," Anora gritted her teeth. Xephos slowly moved his hand into his pocket, and drew out a shining golden apple. He held it gingerly, and offered it to Anora. She snatched it from him and tossed it behind her. There was a thud, and the sounds of a scramble. Of course, Jasper hadn't caught the apple. Honedew stifled a giggle, and even Xephos snorted faintly.

"Shut it," Anora muttered. She could feel her own anger threatening to take control. The terribly-told lies were mocking her, and she found it harder and harder to withstand the heroes' idiocy._ 'Heroes. Please, these guys couldn't ever be true heroes...'_

She glanced at Honeydew, who, despite his situation, still had a smile plastered to his face. That part of him matched the fragments of the legends she'd heard about. She shook her head. It didn't make any difference! Even if the two strangers were really the heroes of the Sand Wars, they were committing crimes. She couldn't just let them get away with it. Besides, it wasn't like she even had a choice. She took a deep breath, and did her best to stow away all her emotions. It wasn't her best poker face. She knew that. But it was enough.

"Xephos, Honeydew, I am placing you under arrest for theft. At this point, you will be taken to the New Mistral Watch Headquarters until further notice," she said, her voice icy. "And please note, any escape attempts or resistance may result in death."

**-OFFICIALLYSANDERFANGIRLPAGEB REAK-**

"Come on Lewis, let's go while she's not looking," Honydew whispered urgently. The two heroes, with Anora behind them, were being marched down the crowded street. There was a lot of bumping and jostling as the general public moved around them, and Anora was focusing more on avoiding any collisions than on her prisoners. Their hands were bound, but Xephos suspected that they could still escape quite easily. It would just take one stumble from Anora, one fall, and they could be out of their predicament. _'But, an arrest isn't something you can just shake off...'_ It was only that vague worry that kept Xephos marching. Acting too stupidly would just make things worse.

"Let's just stay put for now, and see what happens," he finally decided. Honeydew's smile faded a little, but he nodded anyway.

Suddenly, Anora gave them a shove from behind.

"Stop chatting!" she ordered.

"But that's what we do," Honeydew moaned. "Walking in silence just feels too...quiet!"

"Well, luckily for you, the walk's over then," Anora said. The three turned a corner, and stopped as they were met by the sight of a wooden tower. Above its double doors, an emblem of a sword on a moon background had been painted. A sign to the right of the door told them it was the New Mistral Watch's Headquarters.

"Here we are!" Anora exclaimed. "It's good to be home." A smug voice suddenly called out to them.

"So, found someone to arrest, then? Hey, little Annie?" Xephos identified the speaker emerging from the crowd: a man of about thirty, outfitted in the Watch's uniform. He had an mocking grin on his face, and Xephos felt slightly inclined to punch him. _'Oh god, that'd be satisfying. Just to see the look on his face.'_ Xephos glanced at Honeydew and could see he was thinking the same thing.

"Shut it, Pralius!" Anora retorted. Pralius gave an indignant snort.

"Is that any way to talk to a Semi-Vice Captain of the New Mistral Watch?" he practically purred.

"It's the way I talk to morons," Anora snapped. Xephos turned his head slightly and glanced back at Anora. Her fists were clenched, and she looked ready to blow a fuse.

"Aw, Annie, don't be so mean," Pralius said. "We both know your true feelings..."

"Apparently, you still don't! No means no, you old pervert!" she practically yelled. There was an awkward silence in the street, and Xephos realized pretty much everyone had heard Anora's shout. She'd turned bright red under the civilians' stares. Xephos even felt a little sorry for his captor. It was the kind of situation Honeydew and him often got into. Luckily, in a few moments everyone resumed their activity, and the street filled with noise again.

"You happy, Annie?" Pralius asked, his tone biting. "You're lucky I don't send you back to Terrorvale."

"Oh please, you're not ranked above me any more! You couldn't do that, even if you tried!" Anora shot back angrily, her face still a cute pink. Pralius's face hardened, but he finally strode away. And Xephos gave a start. For a second, he'd been sure Anora was about to cry. But she blinked, and her face regained composure.

"Come on," she told the two heroes, her voice softer than before. She nudged them towards the Watch Headquarters' entrance.

In a second, they were through the doors and walking along a stone-floored passage. As they passed by another Watch member, Xephos heard his half-muttered question.

"Aren't those the heroes, Honeydew and Xephos?" Xephos opened his mouth to respond, but Anora stopped and cut in before he could.

"Nope...Uh, they're...shape-shifters just in from...Stoneholm," she told the curious Watch member. Xephos swore under his breath. There was no way in heck that anyone would help him with that story. Shape-shifters could imitate people down to how they brushed their teeth, and were pretty much hated by all because of their abilities. No one ever trusted a shape-shifter. Ever. Even shape-shifters didn't trust shape-shifters... _'We're so screwed...'_

Anora gave him a push from behind, and the three continued on their way. _'To whatever dark cell awaits.'_

**Lysander: Still nothing to do with me...How suspicious... **

**Arashi: So, I actually enjoyed writing Pralius. He's just such a assbutt; I'm hoping to find a way for Notch to smite him sometime...**

**Lysander: Careful, I think your Anora is showing...**

**Anora: Shut it. Like she owns me.**

**Arashi: I do actually...**

**Anora:...**

**Arashi: Well, ANYWAY, sorry if my Xephos POV (you did get it wasn't from Anora's POV any more, right?) wasn't up to scratch. I honestly prefer writing from my OC's perspective. Makes my life a lot more fun...**

**Xephos: Wait, what...?**

**Arashi: Anyways, please leave a review! They make my day! :D**


	4. Sentence

**And we're back! Finally, a certain degree of mystery is revealed, hurrah, and another bit of it begins! **

**Thanks go to MrLRocks78 for all those lovely reviews! Remember folks, reviews really do equal inspiration! (Not really, but still...) And thanks to all my lovely favouriters and alerters, and my readers, even if you don't leave a review! **

**Third chapter, here we go!**

Chapter 3: Sentence

"Uh, well, this isn't what I expected when I woke up this morning," Honeydew chuckled. Xephos smiled, but couldn't bring himself to join in with Honeydew's laughter. The fact remained that they were in a jail cell. It wasn't even a nice jail cell at that. All iron bars and stone floors. Anora had just dumped them in their cell and run off. It'd been quite strange; she actually looked worried. And she'd avoided meeting Xephos's eyes, actually ever since she'd told the Watch member they were shapeshifters. Xephos frowned.

"Hellooooo? Lewis?" Honeydew asked, waving a hand in front of the spaceman's face. Xephos snapped out of thought.

"Sorry, friend. Just thinking..." he apologized.

"Well, come on! Pull it together, man!" the dwarf huffed. Xephos nodded. There was a moment of silence, and then Honeydew asked, "So...uh...what the fuck do we do now?"

"Well, I don't think we want to be overly hasty here," Xephos mused.

"Oh come on! We can't wait out the rest of our lives in here!"

"And we still have that golden apple quest to finish up...But on the other hand, if we escape, we're going to get chased." Xephos looked around. If there was an easy, stealthy way to escape, it'd make things a lot easier. The cell was pretty basic. It just had two beds, a bucket and a jug of water._ 'Except, hang on...'_ High up, out of reach, was a small barred window. He wasn't totally sure, but he suspected that if he looked through it, he'd be just above ground-level, looking out onto some street. That suspicion was backed up by the street noises filtering in from the window. 'It's not like anyone can fit through those bars anyway.' There was a loud shout from outside, and Xephos winced. They could have at least made sure prisoners got some peace and quite. _'Geez...Wait, isn't that Jasper?_' There was another shout. _'Yeah, that sounds like him...'_

"Was that...?" Honeydew asked.

"Yeah,"" Xephos responded. "It sounds like he's right outside on the street. If we could just get up to the window, we could get his attention." And the most obvious solution would work easily.

"Let me up on your shoulders, Simon!" Xephos commanded.

"Excuse me?" Honeydew asked.

"You know, because then I could reach the window?"

"Oh, yeah. Just stick me on the bottom, yeah..." Honeydew muttered, but he bent over with a grin so that Xephos could clamber on. The spaceman took a flying leap, and managed to scramble onto Honeydew's back. As the dwarf straightened, he adjusted his position until he was crouching on said dwarf's shoulders. Honeydew moved so that they were right under the window, and Xephos stood. '_WOAH!_' His foot slipped, and he was on the edge of falling. He made a frantic flail for the window's iron bars. He caught them, barely, with the tips of his fingers. Pulling himself up against the bars, he peered through them into the bright light beyond.  
It took a few moment for his eyes to adjust to the brightness, but in a second, he could make out pairs of legs walking about in the street outside.

"Anora, let them go!" Jasper's voice called out again. Xephos noticed two pairs of legs standing still, a couple of meters apart from each other. The one pair, clad in black boots, stepped towards the other.

"I can't! What they did was wrong, Japser!" It was Anora's voice this time.

"Please, they can help," Jasper pleaded desparately. The other pair of boots, pretty blue and white ones, stamped hard.

"I can handle it!" Anora yelled. "I'm not such a babby that I can't find one missing Skylord." Xephos had a moment of confusion._ 'Skylord? What Skylord?_' He didn't know of any missing ones; Lysander would have asked him for help.

"They're heroes, and what's more, they're actually Lysander's friends," Jasper retorted. "They'll make things a lot easier."

"Lysander's friends, huh? Then why were they stealing apples instead of looking for him?" Anora shot back, but it sounded off, like her heart wasn't in it.

"They don't know Lysander's missing." The arguing pair fell silent. _'Wait, what? Missing?'_ Xephos could barely believe his ears.

"They have enough to deal with anyway..." Xephos only just caught Anora's soft murmur.

Finally, Jasper said, voice strained, "Good luck. Without them, you'll need it," and the black boots walked away. Xephos craned upwards, bending his neck painfully. But he finally caught a glimpse of Anora's face. It wasn't what he had been expecting.

From his angle, she looked more vulnerable than anything. She stared at the dirt, fists clenched, and Xephos knew exactly what she was thinking. After all, it was the same thought that'd run through his mind countless times during the Sand Wars._ 'You have no idea what to do, do you, Anora?'_

Honeydew suddenly poked Xephos's ankle. "Get Anora to get us out of here!" he muttered impatiently at the spaceman. Xephos looked down for a moment and nodded at his friend, before craning to see Anora again.

"Anora!" he called. She gave a start and looked around curiously. "Anora, down here!" Xephos said again. Her gaze finally fell upon the barred window, and her face fell.

"Oh, it's you."

"Ouch, that burns!" Honeydew yelled from below. Xephos allowed himself a small chuckle at his friend's response, before becoming serious again.

"Anora, please, you have to get us out of here!" Xephos pleaded. Her frown deepened.

"I can't," she said.

"Oh, come on! It's not about us anymore! If Lysander is missing, that could mean trouble for the whole of Minecraftia," Xephos snapped.

"Oh, you heard that..." Anora murmured.

"Yes, now let us help you find him!" he yelled, finally losing his patience.

"I can't!" Anora shouted back. Her frown wobbled, and she blinked furiously. "I can't; I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

"Huh?"

"I didn't mean to say it, about you guys being shapeshifters, but then I panicked and it all went wrong and...I'm so sorry, Xephos."

"Wait, what?" he asked, completely and utterly confused.

"There's been a huge wave of shapeshifter-related crime recently, and, well, they've just introduced a death penalty for any shapeshifter crime." It took a few seconds for her words to sink in. '_Death penalty...but...'_

"But that means-"

"Yeah, you'll be executed if you're found guilty. And because of the nature of shapeshifters, you won't even be let out of there until your trial."

"WHAT?" Honeydew screamed, his dwarvish accent becoming stronger as he began to panic. He let go of Xephos's legs. The spaceman wobbled, and as Honeydew ran for the barred door of his prison, he found himself with only the iron bars of the window to hold himself up. His fingers screamed in protest as his feet scrambled against the smooth wall. And as he tried to keep himself up by the window, he didn't notice Anora leaving until it was too late.

"Come back!" he yelled at her boots, but she was already around the corner. He lost his grip on the bars, and tumbled back to the floor of the cell.

**-OFFICIALLYSANDERFANGIRLPAGEB REAK-**

Pralius buttoned up his trousers. Sighing, he surveyed the decrepit Watch bathroom. He felt the familiar frustration._ 'The Watch deserves more; hell, I deserve more!'_ The bathroom would hardly even be fit for a creeper to blow up. He moved to the basin, and rinsed his hands in the stagnant water it contained. It was freezing, sending a chill up his spine. He snatched his hands out quickly, drying them on his pants. The water was almost unnaturally cold. A flicker of suspicion ran through his mind, as he remembered the reports of strange activity in the Desert._ 'Undead activity...'_ His hand crept to the hilt of his sword. From behind him, he could almost feel an evil presence.

He whirled around, drawing his sword. A second later, he froze, and stared at the completely normal room. For a moment, everything blurred. But it was back to normal in another moment. Everything was fine; he didn't know why he'd been so worried. He pushed away the last of his concerns, and turned back to the basin of water. Above it was a cracked mirror, and he took a moment to glance at his reflection. Pralius absent-mindedly combed his fingers through his hair, so that some of it flopped in front of his eyes.

He liked his eyes now. They'd always been a rather disappointing grey. But that had changed. He grinned at his reflection, and his reflection grinned back, with it's bright, glowing, red eyes.

Pralius knew what he had to do, what he'd been itching to do since the "heroes" had been brought in by that weakling, Anora. He ran a finger along the blade of his sword. A few seconds later, blood welled from the cut the blade had left. His smirk widened. He strode out of the room, ready to fulfill the urge, the urge to torture and murder and slaughter.

**Xephos: Flippin' heck! My back still hurts from falling down from that window!**

**Anora: Servers you right, jerk.**

**Arashi: Anora, stop abusing my Xephos!**

**Anora: Your Xephos?**

**Arashi: Oh, did I say "my"? I meant...uh...**

**Jasper: Jasper's**

**Arashi: Yeah, Jasper's Xephos...WAIT WHAT?**

**Lysander: Remember to leave a review saying anything at all! Otherwise...**

**Arashi: I might just let Jasper get Lysander into his fungeon...**

**Lysander: Oh...Notch...**


	5. Fight or Flight

**Hello dear and wonderful readers! As usual, sorry for the delay! Thanks as usual, go to you guys, for reading, alerting, favouriting or reviewing! **

**So I got a whole new lesson in the demented when watching the end of an anime, School Days (the only part of it I watched) and Mirai Nikki. So expect me to continue dishing out darkness on a regular basis. :)**

Chapter 4: Fight or Flight

"Okay, that's it, let's get out of here!" Xephos decided, face set in determination.

"Hooray!" Honeydew cheered. There was a moment of silence, before Honeydew asked, "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're escaping, but uh...what made you decide?"

"Well, we have nothing to lose, do we? I mean, we're already lined up to get the bloody death penalty, and Lysander's missing." But that wasn't the real reason he wanted to escape. And what's more, he didn't even want to think about the real reason, because it was just utterly terrifying.

"So it's not because Lysander's disappearance seems like something a certain pale-faced man would be behind?" Honeydew chirped.

"Oh, no, nothing like that. We killed him, after all," Xephos replied breezily.

"Okay."

"Alright."

"Yeah."

"Mhm."

Xephoa stifled a chuckle, as Honeydew grinned at him. The worry was still there though, in the very recesses of his mind. He pushed it even further away. _'The chances of it even being possible are, what, one in a trillion?'_

"Right, so I can't help noticing-" Honeydew began.

"Yeah?"

"-We can't exactly climb out a window to escape," his smile widened. "And my dwarven might isn't very mighty today."

"Don't worry, friend. I've got it covered," Xephos said. The truth was that he wasn't sure if his plan would even work. Any explosions would bring the Watch running, and the heroes's usual weapons had been confiscated. There'd be no way to fight back if they found them. It was going to be close.  
He knelt on the ground and held his hands out in front of him, palm-down. He placed the one on top of the other, fingers spread wide. His eyes closed as he focused, picturing exactly what he wanted to do. Xephos could feel the energy swirling inside himself. Tentatively, he drew it down his arms with his mind, pooling it around his hands. His focus moved solely to what he wanted to create: its colour, its force. His eyes fluttered open and Honeydew gasped. They glowed blue, cutting through the dim light.

His voice rang out, echoing around the cell, "Give Honeydew 46 64."

**-OFFICIALLYSANDERFANGIRLPAGEBREAK-**

Anora strode down the passage, her throat tight. She swallowed again, and pushed back the worry that clawed at her heart. It was embarrassing how she acted like such a weakling around the heroes. _'They must think I'm a real crybaby._' And she was the one who'd have to get them out of this whole mess. After all, it was her fault they were in it.

There were only two options left, really. She could let them die, or admit to everyone that she'd arrested the true heroes of Minecraftia. _'That would go so amazingly well.'_

Anora was snapped out of her thoughts as someone bumped into her, hard. The culprit ignored her, pushing past and continuing down the corridor without even looking back. Anora's anger swelled.

"Hey, assbutt!" she yelled. The retreating figure didn't even look around. "I'm talking to you!" she shouted again. The man halted, and slowly, his head began to turn in her direction. His face came into view and in a flash, her anger was gone, replaced by sheer horror. It was Pralius, grinning from ear to ear. And his eyes were blood red.

Her breath caught in her throat, as her hand slowly crept to the hilt of her rapier. Pralius mirrored her, until they were both grasping their sheathed weapons. Anora gulped, and tried to calm the whirlwind in her stomach. She didn't know a lot about the Sand Wars, but there was one thing she did know._ 'Israphel's eyes were scarlet too._' The two stared at each other, neither moving. Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, Anora loosened her rapier in its sheath ever so slightly.

"Listen, Pralius, I know we've had our differences, but whatever the problem is, I can help," she called across to him. He smirked back at her, silently. "Come on, already! What's with the eyes?" He made some sound in the back of his throat, and it took Anora a second to realize what it was. '_Laughter; he's laughing at me.'_ But the laughter died a moment later. Its absence didn't make her feel any better.

"Our differences?" Pralius growled, voice rough and grating. "Don't pretend that you don't hate me, hey, little Annie!" His voice echoed down the corridor. Anora could practically see his grip on his sword hilt tightening. "I think, deep down, I always truly hated your guts." He paused, and his grin widened, practically splitting his face in half. "Now, on the other hand, I don't just hate those guts. I'm going to spill them all over the floor!"

Pralius drew his sword, bloodlust dripping from his every move. Anora pulled out her own rapier, shifting her weight to the balls of her feet. The tip of her blade trembled. She tried her best to still the movement, but she couldn't. She was all too aware of how completely, utterly alone she was. 'He's going to run me through and hack and slash until I'm just a few bloodspatters on the wall.' She shivered, and her sword's tip dipped.

Pralius cackled again, "Aw, Annie, giving u-"

Suddenly, everything jolted. The corridor almost seemed to shift for a moment, and for an instant, the world stopped making sense. Anora was flung to the ground as a deafening bang filled the air. Her head cracked against the floor, and pain seared through her. Dust and plaster rained down from the ceiling, making it an effort to even breathe. _'What...An explosion? But who would do that?'_ The ringing in her ears went on, and on. Finally, when debri was no longer falling, she pushed herself up off the floor, onto her knees. A quick look confirmed what she'd already expected. Pralius was gone.

She scrambled to her feet, and shook her head to try and clear out the ringing of her ears. The sound quickly got better, and in its place came yelling and screaming. It sounded like the whole of New Mistral was outside. '_That explosion...it sounded like it was from the cell block...And I bet Pralius is heading there.'_

Anora broke into a sprint. '_Honeydew, Xephos, oh Notch.'_

**-OFFICIALLYSANDERFANGIRLPAGEBREAK-**

Xephos coughed, violently, trying to force out the dust that had coated his throat. Finally, able to breathe again, he crawled out from under the cell's bed. They, Honeydew and he, had taken shelter from the blast under it. Even so, if it wasn't for Honeydew's expert manipulation of the bomb, they would have perished for sure.

Xephos sighed as he looked around. Complete and utter devastation surrounded him. The TNT that they'd blew up had really gone off with a bang. It had ripped a gaping hole in the wall of the cell, leaving it wide open to the street outside. But that street hadn't fared too well either. Rubble had fallen upon the ground like snow in the heart of winter, and the surrounding buildings were in ruins. It was just a thought, but he couldn't help feeling the residents of New Mistral weren't going to be too happy._ 'KP is going to kill me when he hears about this...'_

Honeydew joined him to survey their handiwork. They could hear some yelling and screaming in the distance, but the two heroes ignored it.  
"We're lucky we didn't die," Honeydew observed calmly.

"Flippin' heck," Xephos chuckled. "Maybe you went a little overboard?"

"Sure, blame the dwarf," Honeydew replied jokingly. He hesitated a moment before asking, "How much trouble do you think we're going to get into?"

"Uh...a lot." Realization slowly dawned on the spaceman. Somehow, in the wake of the explosion, he'd forgotten why they'd needed it in the first place. "Oh geez, Simon, we need to escape!"

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot!" Honeydew giggled. "It just slipped my mind."

With that, the dwarf clambered up to the street. Once he was safely up, Xephos followed. '_The Mistral Watch really must be terrible. They haven't even arrived to stop us yet.'_ Pulling himself up to stand beside Honeydew, he coughed. The street's air was a lot worse than the cell's, with every lungful packed with dust. He reached into his pockets, and felt around for anything that would make breathing easier. His fingers met cloth, and he pulled out a scrap of a handkerchief. Holding it over his mouth just about helped enough for him to start taking note of his surroundings. More specifically, he could notice Honeydew's stance.

The dwarf had shifted into a combat position, weight on the balls of his feet and hands curled into fists. His face was scrunched in apprehension.

"Friend?" Xephos asked.

"Uh..." Honeydew breathed, and pointed over the spaceman's shoulder. He turned, and swallowed nervously at the figure striding down the street.

"Do you think he knows the explosion was our fault?" he mused.

"Well, we may as well still try to shift the blame." Honeydew paused, before shouting, "DAMN IT FUMBLEMORE!" The dwarf's yell echoed down the street, but regardless, the figure came closer and closer, expression unchanged.

It was Pralius, with a scarlet-stained sword and matching glowing eyes. And if looks could kill, the heroes' innards would be all over the street.

**Pralius: Why did you have to pick me to become the bad guy? I'm a nice person, really!**

**Anora: Sure you are...**

**Arashi: Yeah, you're not a complete perv or anything...It's not like you've made fun of 'little Annie' on a daily basis...**

**Pralius: I see your point.**

**Xephos: I mean, talk about going complete psychopath on everyone.**

**Arashi: Yeah.**

**Pralius: YOU DID THIS TO ME!**

**Arashi: Oh, uh, right. Well anyway, please leave a review! They really do brighten up my day!**


End file.
